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Making a science out of convincing people to buy things they don’t need is not only not important, it’s fundamentally dishonest. No amount of apologies or hand

Making a science out of convincing people to buy things they don’t need is not only not important, it’s fundamentally dishonest. No amount of apologies or hand waving will change that fact. Marketing is a pox on the human mind that we’d all be better off without.

openknot 5y ago
>”Marketing is a pox on the human mind that we’d all be better off without.” If you work, marketing pays part of your salary. A company can’t survive without it. Marketing includes the “Who’s hiring?” threads on the front page; word of mouth recommendations; and job postings on LinkedIn. If you’ve found a job that pays your bills, marketing played a role.
- hn_version_0023 5y ago
  You pay your bookie a vig too? The fact that marketing exists isn’t something I’m debating. The fact it has wormed its way into all aspects of life is a sign that we lead sick lives, to me.
  - openknot 5y ago
    Your point, as written, was: "Marketing is a pox on the human mind that we’d all be better off without.” A reasonable response is that marketing has likely directly benefited your life.
    - hn_version_0023 5y ago
      Agreed, it surely has benefited my life. That benefit doesn’t seem to outweigh, in my mind, the dishonesty pervasive in marketing, however. A thing can benefit me and still be a net drag on humanity. I’ll continue to maintain that “the human mind would be better off without” marketing.
- paulryanrogers 5y ago
  There is a spectrum here. Benign forms of marketing that are closer to outreach or education campaigns all the way to the darkest, borderline fraudulent techniques. Then there is the question of what's being marketed. Could be 'concentration' pills bankrolling someone's four hour work week, or trying to help teens understand the risks of smoking, and everything else in between.
Melatonic 5y ago
I don't think it is marketing as a concept that is the problem - it is that we are forced to have it everywhere. There is no choice. I think a much healthier relationship would be a system where you can choose to dedicate some of your time and preferences to marketing. Instead of companies trying to trick you into clicking their advertisement they would need to create compelling and entertaining advertisements for stuff you might actually want. What I am envisioning is basically something like an app or channel you might willing give some type of inputs (say, for example, you are looking for a new car - you could input some data about your preferences) and then advertisers would have to compete to show off the best product. You could choose to dedicate 0 of your time or X amount of minutes. Some of the products I actually use and like the best also have the best (in terms of entertainment) marketing - if someone can make me laugh with a 10 second video AND show off a well designed product at the same time then I generally take that as a positive. But the advertisement needs to be providing entertainment value on its own.

openknot 5y ago

>”Marketing is a pox on the human mind that we’d all be better off without.” If you work, marketing pays part of your salary. A company can’t survive without it. Marketing includes the “Who’s hiring?” threads on the front page; word of mouth recommendations; and job postings on LinkedIn. If you’ve found a job that pays your bills, marketing played a role.

hn_version_0023 5y ago
You pay your bookie a vig too? The fact that marketing exists isn’t something I’m debating. The fact it has wormed its way into all aspects of life is a sign that we lead sick lives, to me.
- openknot 5y ago
  Your point, as written, was: "Marketing is a pox on the human mind that we’d all be better off without.” A reasonable response is that marketing has likely directly benefited your life.
  - hn_version_0023 5y ago
    Agreed, it surely has benefited my life. That benefit doesn’t seem to outweigh, in my mind, the dishonesty pervasive in marketing, however. A thing can benefit me and still be a net drag on humanity. I’ll continue to maintain that “the human mind would be better off without” marketing.
paulryanrogers 5y ago
There is a spectrum here. Benign forms of marketing that are closer to outreach or education campaigns all the way to the darkest, borderline fraudulent techniques. Then there is the question of what's being marketed. Could be 'concentration' pills bankrolling someone's four hour work week, or trying to help teens understand the risks of smoking, and everything else in between.

Melatonic 5y ago

I don't think it is marketing as a concept that is the problem - it is that we are forced to have it everywhere. There is no choice. I think a much healthier relationship would be a system where you can choose to dedicate some of your time and preferences to marketing. Instead of companies trying to trick you into clicking their advertisement they would need to create compelling and entertaining advertisements for stuff you might actually want. What I am envisioning is basically something like an app or channel you might willing give some type of inputs (say, for example, you are looking for a new car - you could input some data about your preferences) and then advertisers would have to compete to show off the best product. You could choose to dedicate 0 of your time or X amount of minutes. Some of the products I actually use and like the best also have the best (in terms of entertainment) marketing - if someone can make me laugh with a 10 second video AND show off a well designed product at the same time then I generally take that as a positive. But the advertisement needs to be providing entertainment value on its own.